High School Hotness Tournament Upsets Faculty, Students in Washington

Faculty members and students at Issaquah High School in suburban Seattle are distraught over an online "Hotness Tournament" that has surfaced on Facebook, but no one is sure who created the controversial bracket.

Titled May Madness, the contest pits females against one another and encourages each to "look their finest."

“These are pretty smart folks behind this," says school district spokeswoman Sarah Niegowski. "They know their first amendment rights. They’re very quiet about who it is and the group behind it."

Because the tournament is not being run on school grounds, officials have been unable to prevent its online appearance for the past five years around this time.

“This kind of thing is sexualizing us girls like we're some sort of trophy,” said Devon Keller, a sophomore at the school, while another student added:

“Almost every teenage girl has self-esteem issues and doing something like that is absolutely ridiculous.”

Last year when the bracket went live, parents went to police and got the website shut down. But only temporarily.

Teachers are now monitoring the site and doing all they can to discourage everyone from accessing it.